Secretary of Zimbabwe’s Public Service Commission, Jonathan Wutawunashe (pictured) says the Government is committed to a pay rise for Public Servants.
However, he stressed that workers must recognise the restraints placed on Government finances by the prolonged COVID-19 crisis.
Mr Wutawunashe said the Government had proposed an immediate 25 per cent increase, followed by a further 50 per cent in June.
Public Service unions have rejected that offer.
“The Government has expressed the constraints emanating from a prolonged economic shutdown period owing to the lockdown measures instituted to manage the COVID-19 pandemic, during which revenue generation was reduced to virtual insignificance,” Mr Wutawunashe said.
“Further, Government coffers are stretched since it has to pay for vaccines, with the aim of administering doses to at least 10 million people, thus achieving a measure of herd immunity,” he said.
Mr Wutawunashe said that even though the Government faced these constraints, it remained committed to fulfilling the payment of salaries and benefits to all Public Servants, including those who were at home during the long periods of national lockdowns.
“The Government anticipates that as the economy is opening up, more revenue streams will also open up,” the Secretary said.
“As the economy improves, the Government anticipates more space for further improving conditions of service for its workers, but for now we can only pay from funds that are immediately available.”
He said the Government was committed to the collaborative task of developing a realistic roadmap that would guide deliberations as the country moved closer to the attainment of its Vision 2030 of an upper-middle income economy.
“Government reiterates its commitment to continuous and fruitful engagement with its workers towards improving conditions of service and ensuring a living wage for its valued workforce,” Mr Wutawunashe said.
Harare, 3 April 2021
